Austin, TEXAS — Time Magazine declared The University of Texas School of Law to be the national leader among schools working to broaden their traditional applicant pool.
The September 17 issue stated,
"In states where they have been ordered—as UGA (University of Georgia) was—to stop using formulas that give extra points to minority applicants, they have complied. But what they can do—and have done—is fight back with a range of new programs and policies designed to maintain minority enrollment while carefully walking the new legal lines set by the courts. No school has worked harder to do this than U.T.'s law school, which in 1996 was hit by a suit, Hopwood v. Texas; the ruling in that case removed race as a consideration in admissions. The law school has since enlisted high-profile alumni such as Dallas mayor Ron Kirk and Texas secretary of state Henry Cuellar to write to minority applicants to encourage them to come. A Texas state senator talked airlines into donating tickets so out-of-state blacks can visit the campus. And although the school itself is prohibited from offering race-based scholarships, U.T. alumni have stepped in to help. Last year U.T.'s alumni association, the Texas Exes, gave nearly $400,000 in aid to 31 Hispanics, 28 blacks and one Native American. The payoff: black enrollment is up--to 16 this fall from the low of four the year after Hopwood."
"We have worked hard to attract a diverse student body. We are delighted that Time Magazine has recognized our efforts," said UT School of Law Dean Bill Powers.
The University of Texas School of Law is the national leader in constitutional law, labor law, wills and estates, comparative law and admiralty. With more than 650 African-American alumni and 1,300 Mexican-American alumni, the School of Law has worked for decades to create a diverse alumni base and student population. This fall, the School of Law was named the #1 Law School for Hispanics by Hispanic Business Magazine.
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